Soil Resource Management in the National Parks

Managing parks to preserve fundamental resources, processes, systems and values depends on sound soil resource management. The Soils Program helps parks secure and utilize the information needed to manage soil sustainability and to protect water quality, wetlands, vegetation communities, and wildlife habitats.

Detailed information about the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils in parks is essential for park resource management and protection, as well as providing park managers with the ability to predict the behavior of a soil under a variety of uses.

The National Park Service defines soil as the unconsolidated portion of the earth's crust modified through physical, chemical, and biotic processes into a medium capable of supporting plant growth.

The soil volume includes a mineral fraction derived from geologic materials from the earth's crust; an organic fraction consisting of living, dead, and decomposing organisms and organic residues; and pore space containing air and water in varying percentages.

Soil is three-dimensional, with layers (horizons) that vary in arrangement and thickness on different parts of the landscape. Soils are not static, but are in a dynamic equilibrium with the surrounding environment.

 

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Related Links

• Soil Education at the USDA-NRCS.
• Soil Resources Program at Colorado State University.
• Soil Resources Inventory
• Geologic Resources Inventory

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Key Contacts

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